Redbirds Wins Two, Sweeps Series with SEMO

[February 23, 2015]  LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Illinois State baseball team won both games of a doubleheader with Southeast Missouri State on Saturday to sweep a three-game set at McNeese State’s Cowboy Diamond.

Illinois State won Saturday’s games by scores of 8-3 and 5-4. The Redbirds won the nightcap when right fielder Logan Leverett threw out the potential game-tying run at the plate.

“We called it a defensive walk-off win,” said Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac. “That was certainly an exciting way to end a great series.”

Paul DeJong homered in both games of the doubleheader, while Mason Snyder, Ryan Koziol, Brian Rodemoyer and Leverett also hit home runs Saturday. Jacob Hendren was the winning pitcher in the opener, while Jack Landwehr picked up the win in the second game. Jake Sale got the final out in the second game for his first collegiate save.
 

Illinois State (4-2) fell behind early in the first game and trailed 3-0 entering the fifth inning. The Redbirds erupted for five runs in the top of the fifth, however, to take the lead. Koziol led off the inning with a solo home run. Dennis Colon and Sean Beesley then reached on singles and scored on DeJong’s three-run homer to right-center field. A Leverett triple plated Snyder to cap the five-run fifth.

The Redbirds tacked on three more runs in the seventh inning as Snyder hit a two-run home run and Leverett added an RBI double.

Hendren allowed three runs on eight hits and three walks over six innings to earn the win, while striking out seven. Craig Larkin followed with two shutout innings before Sale got the final three outs.

Illinois State took control of the second game with a four-run sixth inning, which featured a three-run home run from Leverett and DeJong’s second homer of the day.

SEMO (3-4) scratched out single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to get within two runs of the lead, however, and the Redhawks loaded the bases with two outs against ISU pitcher Matt Lambert. The Redbirds then called on Sale, who allowed a single to right field on his first offering, but Leverett gunned down the potential game-winning run to end the game.

Landwehr earned the pitching win after allowing two runs over five innings while striking out four. Lambert surrendered three runs over 3.2 innings of work before Sale got the final out.

The Redbirds return to action next weekend when they travel to Nashville, Tennessee, for a three-game series against 2014 College World Series champion Vanderbilt. The Commodores are currently ranked as the No. 1 team in the country by Baseball America, the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the D1Baseball.com Top 25.

[Matt Wing, Illinois State University]

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